A few months ago, an area museum debuted a wonderful exhibit of a World War II era kitchen and dining room. I had to take a screenshot of this news article because I recognized a couple of the cookbooks on display and because I knew that Betty Crocker's Picture Cook Book wasn't released until 1950. Does that really matter? Not in the least, but it did make me realize that my cookbook obsession may be a teensy bit out of control.
Bisquick, introduced in 1931, was still a new product when this booklet was published. General Mills claimed that this "sensational" product was faster, more efficient, and highly cost-effective and should be readily embraced by the most discerning housewives in America.
While I am intrigued by many of the recipes, I was most tickled by this:
Bisquick Method - 83.75% Faster - Saves 45.5 Steps - Costs 1/7 c More
* These Figures Were Certified to by Theodore Stark, Certified Public Accountant, 715 New York Life Building, Minneapolis, Minnesota, October 3, 1934, as Representing Results Obtained in Average Kitchen. Investigation covered kitchens of various shapes and sizes, some having gas ranges; some, coal; some, wood; and others with electric ovens. Costs of the products were average costs as you yourself would pay at your own grocer's.
Also figured in was the cost of fuel and of your labor. A department of the United States Government estimates the value of the average housewife's time as being 35c an hour. That is the figure we used, although we think it is too little.
Adjusted for inflation, 35 cents is about $8.00 in 2024, and I agree that it is far too little of a sum.
